HRT Takes Last Gasp Win

Holden Racing Team duo Garth Tander and Will Davison took victory in the L&H 500 at Phillip Island thanks to a last lap pass for the lead.

The #2 car had been near the front for the whole race, and had briefly lead earlier on when Tander overtook the Team Vodafone car of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup on Lap 87, only for the lead to change back 11 laps later.

But with 3 laps remaining, Lowndes right front tyre started to deflate, giving Tander the opportunity he needed to catch and pass the ailing Ford Falcon with only half a lap to go.

This gave HRT their second consecutive Phillip Island 500 win, but has made little difference in the title chase, with Whincup still out in front.

Kelly Racing duo Todd and Rick Kelly were robbed of a potential podium place midway through the race, where a problem with the seatbelt cost Todd some time in his middle stint, and gave the FPR car of Steven Richards and Mark Winterbottom 3rd place, and the Jim Beam Racing car of James Courtney and Steven Johnson 4th.

Behind the 5th placed Kelly Racing car was the second of the Jim Beam Racing cars, with Jonathon Webb and Warren Luff at the wheel. Completing the top 10 were Russell Ingall/Tim Slade for Supercheap Auto Racing , Craig Baird/Paul Dumbrell in the second HRT car, Dean Canto and Luke Youlden in the second FPR car, and the Stone Brothers Racing Ford of Alex Davison and Shane van Gisbergen.

The race itself was reasonably clean, bar two Safety Cars, firstly for Fabian Coulthard‘s Ford dropping oil on the circuit after an engine failure, then Cameron McConville and Steven Owen smashing into each other at Turn 1, with McConville’s car spinning through the gravel trap, and across the grass to the exit of Turn 2, luckily avoiding contact with any other cars in the process. However left-front suspension damage from the clash forced the Team BOC car to retire on the spot.

Strangest of all though was McConville’s team-mate Brad Jones having an identical incident only 10 laps later, but this time the other BOC car was not the victim. Lee Holdsworth‘s #33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden sustained broken front-left suspension in the second incident, but this time managed to slow the car in time to avoid re-joining the track backwards like McConville. He too would have to retire due to the damage suffered.